


Right kind of wrong

by allmystories



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: (not btween H/L), Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Bullying, Depression, Domestic Violence, Homophobia, Humiliation, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Rape/Non-con Elements, Teacher-Student Relationship, domestic abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-10-07 23:08:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10371885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allmystories/pseuds/allmystories
Summary: when louis takes the job in a high school in holmes chapel as a teacher, he thinks the small town and limited amount of people he knows there, is going to be a problem.then he meets harry, one of his students, who sits quietly in class and makes the minimum amount of eye contact and realizes, his troubles are just beginning.





	1. CHAPTER 1

It's not safe, is the thing. And Zayn's been trying to gather up the courage to tell that to Louis for the past five minutes.

“Stop doing that.” He finally snaps.

“What?” Louis tears his eyes away from the road to look at his friend at the passenger seat.

“Stop bouncing your leg on the accelerator. You're gonna kill us both.”

Louis looks down and yes, indeed he is doing it.

“Sorry,” he mumbles and stops it immediately. Then, he starts drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. Zayn doesn't have a problem with that, because at least it doesn't possess the power to kill them. But the thing is, he never saw his best friend this twitchy.

“Would you stop it?”, Zayn doesn’t do anything to mask the annoyance in his voice, “You are making me nervous.”

“Why aren't you nervous?”, Louis counters right back.

“Because it's a bloody damn job. Not like we are gonna be executed!”

There is a stretch of silence. And then finally Louis lets out a sigh, and with it, “Oh god, I should've stuck with drama.”

“Why?”

“Coz, I dunno. English is pretty important. I mean, what if I mess it up? Nothing could've gone wrong with drama. I could've handled drama.”

“Wow, Louis Tomlinson is nervous. This should be breaking news.”

“Shut it, Zayn. You are not worried because you know you could babble about modern history in your art class and no one will even notice. The will be busy checking you out.”

“No, you idiot, I'm not scared because art is something I've been doing since I was 6. And, are you kidding, mate? You, with your Yorkshire accent and Shakespeare, with your maroon shirt tucked in those black skinny jeans with suspenders, your hair in a fringe - take my word for it, you are gonna charm their pants off. By the end of this month, every girl will have a massive crush on you. You are gonna be that teacher who gets dozens of roses on valentine's day.”

“Geez, Z. If I knew you like me this much, I would've kissed you in high school.”

“Well, we are going to one now," Zayn says, wiggling his eyebrows, "you still have the chance.”

“Ew, Zayn. Our students are gonna be there.” Louis starts to bounce his legs yet again and Zayn puts a hand on the knee, effectively stopping it.

“Calm down, okay? It’s just a bunch of kids.”

\- # -

When Louis reaches the classroom assigned to him, there is no one else there and when he looks around, he is more than a little overwhelmed. This is _his_ classroom. And he realizes for the first time, why he was actually so scared in the first place.

This is something that belongs to him. For the first time, he owns something for himself- be it the job or this career or this classroom with chipped white paint and 28 desks. No one but he can take it away from him.

No one.

And that is what frightens him the most. What if he screws up? There will be no one else to blame but himself.

It is a terrifying thought.

He sits down on his chair and pulls out the copy of ‘The fault in our stars’ from his bag. Zayn put it in there when Louis confessed that the only reason he knew the plot because of the buzz going around for the movie, not because he actually read a single line of the book.

It’s only a few more minutes before the first student comes through. But Louis is too engrossed in the book to look up. But eventually he is broken from his trance by someone clearing their throat, clearly trying to get his attention.

“Erm, excuse me?” Louis looks up to find a girl with long brown hair sitting in one of the seat in the second row. “This is senior year English, right?”

“Yup.” Louis should sound a little bit cheery, but he really doesn’t like it when someone disturbs him mid-sentence.

“Well, that’s good.” And with that the girl tucks a single piece of her ear behind her ear with a small smile gracing her lips. “I am in the right place then.” She sighs almost dreamily.

God, Louis hates when Zayn is right.

He doesn’t respond, gives a small courteous smile and goes back to his book.

Louis doesn’t know how much time has passed, he just knows that he is through 42 pages and when he checks time on his phone, it’s almost time for the class to start. But more importantly, there is a message from Travis.

‘ _good luck on your first day, Mr. Tomlinson.’_

‘ **_I like it better when you use that name in other situations ;)’_ **

‘ _Really. Really, lou? You are thinking about sex when the room is full of underage people?’_

‘ **_well, I was talking about sappy things like wedding and stuff. But you had to go ahead and ruin it.’_ **

‘ _right..’_

‘ **_it’s true!’_ **

‘ _alright, I believe you. Txt me when you get off?’_

‘ **_;)’_ **

‘ _I MEAN GET OFF FRM WORK, YOU WANKER!’_

‘ **_okay, okay. Yes I will. Or maybe we could skype?’_ **

‘ _sure thing :) .x’_

He is still typing a reply when the class erupts in hushed whispers, but his eyes are glued to the screen. Although, when someone shouts a discreet “Fag!” he finally pays attention to his surroundings.

Louis Tomlinson did not work hard to get to the other side of teacher’s desk, only to endure homophobic slurs from his students. He swore a long time ago that when and if he ever becomes a teacher, he will not stand by and see anyone getting bullied unlike his teachers back in Doncaster.

He looks up and that seems to be enough because everyone stops talking.

\- # -

Harry was expecting the worst from this class. Liam and Niall doesn’t have this class with him. So he is basically alone here. He has no one to talk to, no one to reserve him a seat. But then he comes to find this god-like teacher and he is thinking, well, it wasn’t all to the waste.

Currently Louis is writing on the board and Harry should be paying attention to that, like he does to all his classes. But his eyes are transfixed on the dip of Louis’ waist, the bird of his wrist. He wants to graze his fingers through his feather-y hair, wants to press soft kisses along his spine-

_Stop it! Don’t bring down this amazing person to your disgusting imaginations. He is not a fag, like you._

But the way Louis moves around the room, the way he talks with that soft voice and how he glances at Harry from time to time with those soft blue eyes, makes Harry want to stay in his seat forever. Which is weird because he always waits for his classes to end, for his lunch breaks to end, for his nights to end, for the next morning to end- he just..he always wants an ending, good or bad. But this time, he wants to stay.

He realizes that Louis is staring at him and jerks back into reality.

“What?” he asks and his voice breaks embarrassingly.

“It’s your turn to introduce yourself.” Louis says and Harry notices there is no malice or annoyance in his voice like Harry has come accustomed to from his teachers.

Harry stands up and clears his throat. “I’m Harry Styles. I’m 17. Uh..er..what else?”

“Hobbies? Life goals? Pet peeves?”

“Well..” he has to think hard. It has been so long since someone asked him all this questions, been so long since he had a chance or luxury to think about all these things himself. “I love music. I like to sing myself. But I want to become a lawyer or a teacher one day. And,” he takes a deep breath before he adds, “I hate social events. People, in general. I kind of like to spend time with myself.”

It feels stupid to admit that out loud. Who even wants that? To spend time with themselves? Only losers, people with no friends. Great, now Louis thinks he is a weirdo.

While he is dwelling on this, he hears a soft “And I like to suck cock.” from his right. He looks down at the table and screws his eyes shut. He is about to sit down and let this go just like every other day, when Louis speaks up.

“James, is it?”

James looks startled at being called out. He looks up wide-eyed and before he can get a single word out, Louis is speaking again. “Use those words in my ear shot again, and you will have a problem.” He then turns to Harry and says with a smile that seems somehow fond, “You can sit down now.”

And the kindness in his eyes when he says that makes Harry want to scream. He wants to go up front and scream at Louis’ face, ‘Where were you this whole time? I needed you so bad!’

\- # -


	2. chapter 2

“So, I told him,” Travis says, “I know you have a big dick, I’m staring at the whole 6 feet of it.” and starts cackling even before the sentence is over.

Louis laughs with him and tries to look through the fog as he drives. “What did he say?” he asks.

“Took him a bit to figure it out, but when he did, he flipped me off and walked away.”

“Really?” he comments as he takes a turn, “That’s the comeback he had for such an insult?”

Travis hums non-admittedly. “He’s the dumb blond type, you understand.”

“Babe,” Louis reprimands softly, even though he is still smiling, “That’s stereotyping.”

“Well, if he was trying to break the stereotype, starting a conversation with the size of his dick didn’t really help his case.”

Louis sighs at that. He misses this- misses the light-hearted conversation they used to have, misses silently judging people from a distance and laugh at their own inside joke.

“I miss you.” he blurts out before he can stop himself and a small knot forms in his throat. it's stupid he know, they've been over this a few hundred times.

There is a wistful sigh on the other end. “I miss you too.” He clears his throat afterwards, like this conversation is having the same effect on him as on Louis. But before Louis can commend on that, he speaks again, “How’s the weather?”

And Louis knows he is just taking the piss. But he indulges him anyways, would do anything for him. “Oh, just lovely! I think I saw a sun ray this morning. It was heavenly five seconds. I feel rejuvenated.”

Travis snorts. “That bad, huh?”

“I'm not even joking. This place is horrid. Feels like I'm in a cursed town on something. Right out of Vampire Diaries. I’m yet to see any sunlight and everyone is so white. Wouldn’t be surprised if they were hiding a pair of fangs.” The road takes a rather sharp turn here and Louis almost skids on the smooth asphalt while trying to keep control of the car.

“Are you driving right now?”

“Yeah.” Louis replies as he eases back into his seat.

“Lou _iiiss_ ” Travis lets out an exasperated sigh like a frustrated mother. “Don’t talk and drive, you kn-”

“Babe, calm down. This god forsaken town is so small that I didn’t pass a single car for the 20 minutes I’ve been on the road.” And it’s true. If someone told him a year ago that a place like this exists right here in England, he would’ve laughed in their face. “I could probably drive here blind folded and not hit anything. Simply because there is nothing _to_ hit.” The moment he says it, he knows a joke will come about the whole blind fold thing. But it doesn’t come. Instead -

“Still..” There is a hint of uncertainty laced in the word. Of course his boyfriend isn't convinced. The bastard is living in London right now. It’s almost impossible for him to imagine a road without congested traffic. “Listen, I gotta go. Talk to you later yeah?”

“Yeah,” Louis is reluctant to hang up. But he knows there is no choice. “Love you.”

“Love you too. Bye.”

Thankfully, the supermarket is already in sight, so he doesn’t have to drive on the road alone for much longer. The place is relatively empty when he gets there, just like any other place in this town.

He takes a cart and starts filling it with all the things he would need for the month. He is at the diary isle when his phone vibrates with a text.

_A little birdie told me you went grocery shopping. Mind doing mine too?_

It’s Zayn.

_**U saw me leave thro ur peephole. Dont think I didnt notice. Do ur own shopping.** _

The reply is almost instantaneous. It’s a testament of how lazy Zayn actually is that he is replying to text immediately when he knows Louis is in the supermarket, while other times it takes him hours, sometimes days to acknowledge a message.

_Pleeeeeeaaasseeeeee…..:( i’ll cook 4 u_

And yeah, Louis can’t argue with that now can he? Despite how lazy Zayn is, when he cooks, it’s absolutely delicious. Whereas Louis can hardly boil water without burning himself.

_**Fine. But I want pasta for dinner.** _

_Done :)_

Louis is such a saint honestly. Heaven must have a reserved place just for him.

He does both of their shopping. Albeit, a bit slow, since he doesn’t know the place and it takes time to find some of the things. He is browsing through the shaving creams and razors when he sees him.

It’s Harry. Standing in the middle of the isle, looking around while playing with his bottom lip, like he is contemplating something. It’s cute. And reminds Louis of the first time he went to buy his shaving kit. Growing up without a father, he always needed to figure all these things out himself. He had been so confused- blindsided by all the available choices.

Harry looks just like it. Louis is about to go back to mind his own business when his forehead crinkles and once again he looks over towards the boy.

Does Harry even need razors? He doesn’t look like he needs to shave.

Harry starts taking step towards him, still looking at the shelves, unaware of Louis’ presence there. It’s only when he is almost by his side that he notices.

His reaction is spontaneous and a bit odd. Because the moment he spots Louis standing there, he halts to a stop. His cheeks blush while he bows his head down, almost covering the entire face with his curtain of hair. He looks so bashful that one would think he got caught red-handed while watching porn, not buying shaving cream.

“M-Mr. Tomlinson, how a-are you?” He peeks up for a split second to look at Louis through his eyelashes before ducking back down. His sneaker-clad feet pokes the tiled floor. Louis is eternally endeared.

"Harry, it’s nice seeing you here.” His student looks up at the mere mention of his name like he is shocked Louis even remembered it. “Need help?” Louis adds gesturing to the shelves.

“Um..uh..I-I ..uhm..n-no. I-I think I got it.”

Louis really can’t help the chuckle that escapes his mouth. “You sure? You look kinda lost.”

The teenager’s cheek colors even more at that. He sweeps his fringe to the side with his hand and looks up sheepishly. “Just-I...I was looking is all.”

“Have you done it before?” Louis can’t help but ask.

Harry’s eyes grow comically wide. He looks stunned for a second, mouth gaping like a fish. “I-I m-me-ean..uh..it’s noth-ing..re-”

He is interrupted by a booming voice down the isle. “Hey, Styles! Tampons are over there! Want me to grab them for you, princess?” It’s followed by a collective menacing laughs. And Louis has never been this irritated in his life. He is about to give them a piece of his mind, but gets distracted by Harry grabbing a box of razors sitting closest to them and putting it in his hand basket. He goes to hurry out, but Louis places a gentle hand on his shoulder. There’s not enough force to stop him, but Harry stops nonetheless.

“Hey, don’t listen to them, okay? They are just idiots. Don’t let them get to you.”

Harry nods his head a few times, still looking down and not making eye contact. Louis retracts his hand slowly, and then Harry is scurrying away like a skittish animal who was finally set free.

Louis kind of loses any interest to stay there anymore. He knows small towns are not always the accepting of places. Hell, he grew up in one. But he was never humiliated like this in public. Sure, people talked and he was pushed into lockers and walls. But he never felt like he could be attacked anywhere. In public, of all places.

Maybe it’s because Harry’s an easy target. But that doesn’t make it okay. Just because the boy is quiet and keeps to himself doesn’t mean he has to face this sort of discrimination.

He makes it to the check out line and gets out of the store within five minutes. Somehow, feeling a disdain and disgust towards the place in the pit of his stomach.

He is getting into his car after putting away all his stuff in the boot when he sees Harry walking along the sidewalk, both hand occupied with over flowing plastic carrier bags.

Christ, did he shop for the whole neighborhood?

It’s not a big deal. Holmes Chapel is tiny enough that Louis is sure one can make it from one end to the other within an hour of walking. But the bags looks quite heavy. And they looks like they could burst any second.

So, he gets out of the car and breaks out into a jog to catch up with Harry. When he gets close enough, he calls out, “Harry!” that probably wasn’t a good idea, seeing as the boy is easily spooked on good days.

Sure enough, Harry stumbles. And for a short moment, Louis is holding his breath thinking every last item is going to be sprawled on the pavement along with the boy. But by some miracle of god, he manages to stay upright. He stares at Louis with green orbs big as saucers, like he is watching a truck speeding towards him.

So Louis decides to speak up. “Do you need a lift?”

It takes him a little while to respond. But when he does, it’s a simple shake of head. Louis sighs.

“Harry, those bags look like they could burst any moment.”

“No, no. I’m f-” And right then one handle of the bag on his left hand tears off, leaving the heavy packet to dangle miserably from only one other feeble handle.

Louis is about to make a joke when he realizes, Harry is looking down at the offending item quite seriously. Eyebrows furrowed, lips pursed – like he is reprimanding it in his mind.

“So?” Louis pushes and Harry’s shoulders stoop down with a sort of resignation. Louis doesn’t understand it but doesn’t question it either.

“Ok.”

“Let me help you with that.” Louis doesn’t give him anytime to protest before he grabs the bag from his left hand and cradles it to the chest. And he was right. The thing is fucking heavy. Enough that, he feels like he has trouble breathing. How harry was walking with these is a bloody mystery.

After putting the items in the back seat, they get in the car and Louis turns up the heat to the highest.

Harry is sitting with his hands folded in his lap, eyes fixed on his fingers, teeth biting at his bottom lips. In that moment, the boy looks so vulnerable that Louis has a strong urge to wrap him up in a blanket and give him hot chocolate.

He starts up the car and the radio at the same time and drives with Harry’s soft instructions as guidance.

The drive isn’t too long – not that Louis was expecting it to be. But it feels like seconds before they come to a stop in front of what Louis assumes is Harry's house, and his jaws drop a little.

The house looks, for lack of better words, daunting. It's painted a pristine white- so spotless that Louis is scared to breathe, lest he make it dirty even though he is a few meters away. There is a garden on the lawn, spread all around the house as far as Louis can see. All colors of flowers are in bloom. The front door is decorated with intricate metal flowers on the edge.

It’s not a mansion, but big enough to warrant a raised eyebrow. And Louis is not the type to judge a book by it’s cover. But he didn’t think Harry came from this much money. He just doesn’t show it. Looking at him, Louis thought that his house was probably a little blue one, with white picket fence and flower pots on windows sill. So this is a bit unexpected.

“Thanks.” When Harry’s low voice finally gets his attention, Louis observes that he has got the bags from the back seat and is standing there beside the open passenger side door, looking a bit troubled at how to close it with his arms as full as they are.

Louis puts him out of his misery. “I’ve got it,” he says as he leans across the seat to get to the door handle. He finally closes it shut and stares at Harry who is still not looking at him. “See you around, then.”

He goes to pull out into the street, when-

“Mr. Tomlinson.”

Louis looks at the boy, waiting. “Yes?”

The boy stares at him for a silent moment, lips rolling into his mouth and then, “Nothing.” With that he turns around and walks up the drive way towards the front door.

Louis is left to stare after him.

-

In the two months that Louis teaches his class, he give them exactly five assignments. All of them with freedom of writing on a topic he provides. The answers he gets back are quite predictable. Some are lousy excuse of writing, some just copy-paste from google, some looks like they’ve been put a little effort into, while the other rare few are amazing.

But it only takes those five writing assignments for Louis to come to the conclusion that Harry’s thoughts are quite dark.

His writing is always a stand-out from the crowd. Not because it’s the best, no, but mainly because somehow very easily he brings a negativity in it that wasn’t supposed to be there at all.

The first couple times Louis thinks he is just trying to gain a new perspective. But then the third assignment is given with a silly topic of -’why pets are better companion than human’.

All the essays are written with descriptions of their own pets, some talking about how they would like to get a pet when they get their own place. It’s not very serious writing. And it’s not supposed to be. But then there is one that starts with -”People try to steal your breath while animals breath with you.”

And it goes downhill from there.

Louis finishes reading it with a frown and a heavy heart. it’s only when he finishes it that he checks the name and there is ‘Harry Styles’ written in loopy fonts.

The thought sits a little disturbingly in his mind. People are complex, Louis gets that. But by far the only thing that makes Harry a bit different from others is the fact that he is shy. That alone, shouldn't make him so immerged in darkness.

Then, one day Louis gets to see the other side of him.

-


End file.
